Cambus
Cambus #120, a 2019 Gillig Low Floor.
Founded1972
LocaleIowa City, IA
Service areaUniversity of Iowa
Service typeUniversity bus system
Routes14
Hubs2 (Iowa City Downtown Interchange & West Campus Transportation Center)
Fleet35 (32 Fixed Route buses & 3 Bionic Bus)
Daily ridership8,250
Fuel typeUltra-Low Sulfur Diesel & Gasoline
Chief executiveBrian McClatchey
WebsiteCambus

Cambus is an American public transport bus system, primarily serving the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. The service is intended to provide transportation for students, faculty, and staff around the main campus, University of Iowa Research Park, residence halls, and commuter parking lots. Cambus is a zero-fare service open to the general public, and provides approximately 3,000,000 rides per year. It is one of three transit systems in the Iowa City area, the other two being Iowa City Transit and Coralville Transit, and Cambus shares several stops with them.

The service is operated by the Department of Parking and Transportation for the University of Iowa with funding from the Parking & Transportation Department, a UI Student fee, and the Federal Transportation Administration. Cambus employs approximately 170 employees. There are only six non-student employees who work specifically for Cambus: the Cambus Manager, the Maintenance Supervisor, and four full-time mechanics. All other employees, including drivers, dispatchers, trainers, student mechanics, and departmental supervisors, are students currently enrolled at the University of Iowa.

Cambus also has two different buildings on the University of Iowa campus. The main office is located on Evashevski Drive, north Kinnick Stadium, called the West Campus Transportation Center. Cambus moved operations to this newer building, shared with the Parking & Transportation department, on November 16, 2012. The Cambus Maintenance Facility, often called "The Barn" by employees, is located on South Madison Street south of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.

History

Cambus was founded by University of Iowa students and has been in operation since March 1972. The name "Cambus" was the result of a naming contest. It started with seven vehicles dating from 1955 and 1956.[1] By 1975, the fleet had grown to 11 vehicles. Twelve new buses were purchased the following year. In 2004, the fleet had 32 vehicles.[2] The University of Iowa campus is divided into east and west halves by the Iowa River. Most Liberal Arts and Sciences classes take place on the east side of the river; thus the purpose of the new bus service was to facilitate easier transportation between the west-side dormitories and the east-side classrooms. At first there was no name for this service, so the founding students created a contest open to all UI students to select one. "Cambus" was the name eventually chosen after Cambuskenneth, and the winner, Larry Page, was awarded a free pizza.

The first Cambus buses were used school buses, repainted by Cambus employees. There were three different bus routes; Red Route, Blue Route, and the Interdorm Shuttle. Cambus also acquired a trailer, which was used as their main office; this was located in the Hancher Auditorium parking lot.

In the 2013 financial year, ridership reached 4.5 million.[3]

In October, 2018, Cambus routes and schedules were integrated with Google Maps.[4]

Routes

Cambus currently has thirteen routes in service.[5]

During Academic service (the Spring and Fall semesters), all routes run on weekdays with limited service on the weekends. During Summer and Interim service a limited service runs without any weekend service. Route maps and schedules are available on the Cambus website and in pamphlets available on the buses. Cambus time is set by the Master Clock at the US Naval Observatory.[6]

During academic service the earliest route begins at 4:30 am and the last route ends at 1:02 am (2:12 am on Friday and Saturday nights for SafeRide)

Cambus also provides special service for university-affiliated groups, including shuttle service for most Hawkeye football games (to/from downtown, Hancher, and the Hawkeye Commuter Lot), men's Hawkeye basketball games (to/from Hancher), and other events on campus.

Following a recommendation from the Iowa City Area Transit Study (ICATS), Cambus began using route numbers in July 2021.[7]

Route 31 at Downtown Interchange/Schaeffer Hall.

Route list

No. Name Route Notes
31 Red Route WCTC → Hardin Library → Hancher East → Mayflower Hall (31M only) → Currier Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Rienow Hall
  • 31M via Mayflower Hall
32 Blue Route WCTC → Slater Hall → Communications Center → Macbride Hall → Mayflower Hall (32M only) → Hancher West → VA Hospital
  • 32M via Mayflower Hall
33 South Campus Shuttle IMU → Clinton & College → Prentiss & Madison
34 Research Park VA Loop → MERF → East Lot → IREH Signed as UI Research Park
35 Interdorm Mayflower Hall → Currier Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Rienow Hall → Macbride Hall → WCTC (35A only) → Pride/Cultural Centers (35B only)
  • 35A via West Campus Transportation Center
  • 35B via Pride/Cultural Centers
36 Mayflower Shuttle Mayflower Hall → Currier Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Macbride Hall → Burge Hall)
41 Hawk Lot-Hospital Hawkeye Lot ↔ WCTC
42 Hawkeye-Pentacrest Macbride Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Newton Road Ramp → VA Loop (to Hawkeye) → HRTC North → Hawkeye Lot 1 → Aspire → VA Loop (to downtown) → MERF
43 Hawkeye Interdorm Macbride Hall → Mayflower Hall → Currier Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Rienow Hall → WCTC (to Hawkeye) → HRTC North → Hawkeye Lot 1 → Aspire → WCTC (to downtown) → Slater Hall
51 Hospital-Finkbine/Arena Finkbine Lot South → Arena Lot East → WCTC
  • Temporarily suspended due to construction at the IAIS railroad crossing on Finkbine Commuter Drive; service replaced by the temporary Finkbine-WCTC and Arena-WCTC routes.[8]
52 Finkbine-Pentacrest Macbride Hall → Schaeffer Hall → Newton Road Ramp → VA Loop (to lots) → WCTC (52N only) → Finkbine Lot South → Arena Lot East → VA Loop (to downtown) → MERF
  • 52N evening service via West Campus Transportation Center
53 VA Loop Shuttle Finkbine Lot South → Arena Lot East → VA Loop
54 Hancher-Newton Road VA Loop ↔ Hancher Lot East

[5]

Bus Tracking

Live bus tracking using GPS was introduced in 2010 with the BONGO (Bus on the Go) service.[9] This was replaced in December 2019 with bus tracking in the Transit app.[10]

Bionic Bus

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Cambus provides paratransit service called the Bionic Bus for University staff, faculty, and students. There are up to 3 paratransit buses in service during normal academic service (fewer run on weekends and during interim service). The service is demand-response curb-to-curb and serves much of Iowa City and Coralville. Student drivers are specially trained for Bionic Bus. Unlike Iowa City Transit and Coralville Transit, the paratransit service is handled in-house and not contracted to Johnson County SEATS.

Fleet

Fleet number(s) Photo Year Manufacturer Model Powertrain Notes
14-16 2013 Gillig Low Floor 29'
  • Used for fixed route and Bionic Bus service.
17 2020 Ram
New England Wheels		 ProMaster
Frontrunner
LFXLT
  • Used for Bionic Bus.
  • Entered service by the Fall 2020 academic year.
18-19 2022 Ram
New England Wheels		 ProMaster
Frontrunner
LFXLT
  • Used for Bionic Bus.
  • Entered service in early 2023. They are painted white but will be repainted into the current Cambus yellow livery in the future.
94-105 2008 Gillig Low Floor 40'
106-108 2009 Gillig Low Floor 40'
109-116 2011 Gillig Low Floor 40'
117-118 2013 Gillig Low Floor 40'
119 2018 Gillig Low Floor 40'
120-122 2019 Gillig Low Floor 40'
  • Entered service in November 2019, replacing the final 90s-era Gillig Phantoms in the Cambus fleet.
  • Order placed in December 2018 with the assistance of federal grant money.[11]
  • Feature a redesigned livery.

[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fare Considered For Cambus Rides". Iowa City Press-Citizen. 1973-09-18. p. 1.
  2. ↑ Brenner, Vida (2004-09-03). "Cambus keeps students on move". Iowa City Press-Citizen. p. 2.
  3. ↑ "Start of school especially busy for drivers". The Gazette. 2013-09-18. p. 10A.
  4. ↑ "CAMBUS routes and schedules integrated into Google Maps | Parking and Transportation". transportation.uiowa.edu.
  5. 1 2 "Routes, Schedules, Maps | Parking and Transportation - The University of Iowa". transportation.uiowa.edu.
  6. ↑ "The Official NIST US Time". www.time.gov. May 22, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-05-22.
  7. ↑ https://transportation.uiowa.edu/articles/2021/06/cambus-introduces-route-numbers-route-naming-system
  8. ↑ https://transportation.uiowa.edu/cambus-service-alert-routes-51-52-53-detour-due-road-work-finkbine-commuter-drive-railroad
  9. ↑ "Waiting for the Cambus just got easier with BONGO – Alumni Seeking Iowa Students". asist.admissions.uiowa.edu. 2010-12-10. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Rylee. "Cambus introduces new Transit navigation app to replace Bongo". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  11. ↑ "CAMBUS introduces three new buses with improved features to the fleet thanks to FTA funding | Parking and Transportation - the University of Iowa".
  12. ↑ "PTMS Ranking - Transit Portal". secure.iowadot.gov.
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